A/N: Oops, a whole day without an update. *Hides head in shame* What can I say? My mom got me the new book by my favorite author. I SOOO didn't want to finish it. It was so good, I was reading every sentence twice, just to make sure I didn't miss anything. *Sigh* That's the kind of author I want to be one day. Well, merry late Christmas everyone and prepare for a Happy New Year! ~Carlee, aka SilverDragonsFlame
Disclaimer: If I was JK Rowling, and I owned Draco, well, I wouldn't spend so much time on FF.net, getting my D/G fix from all the other wonderful authors on here, who also, coincidentally, don't own Harry Potter...Wow, I fit in!
**********
Mischief Mistletoe – Chapter Five
**********
They were now going on forty hours. It was early Sunday afternoon and they were still stuck in the damn Mistletoe's circle. Draco was getting ready to give in and be the one to break their stubborn streaks. He was almost to that point.
Almost.
Didn't mean he would actually do anything. Nope. Although the boredom was going to drive him crazy. He'd already missed one Quidditch practice and three meals because Ginny refused to go into the dining hall with him.
Hell, the Mistletoe had even tried to drag them there, but Ginny had grabbed onto the door and refused to let go. Honestly, the sight of her hanging onto the heavy wooden door for dear life, sideways in the air…well, it had almost been enough to bring a smile to his face.
Almost.
Instead, he had kept the bored sneer in place as was proper for a Malfoy. Things would be bad enough when his father found out he had spent the weekend trapped with the littlest Weasley. No need for him to ever hear ANYTHING about smiling.
It simply wouldn't do for him to find out anything. Unfortunately, there was no doubt that this little tidbit would leak out eventually. Though Ginny had tried her damndest to keep it a secret, they had to eat eventually, and neither of them was giving in…
Draco contemplated trying to drag her to lunch. They would just catch the end of it. Though he knew he would fail, it would be
worth it just to see her hanging in the air again.
Oh bloody hell, had he really just admitted to knowing he would fail and
wanting to do it anyway? Had he just
admitted that something was worth failing for?
He sneered to himself, wishing the Malfoy sneer could erase his thoughts. Nothing was safe when it came to father, and if his father found out…
Bloody HELL! When was he going to stop being afraid of his father?? Lucius had been in hiding since the Azkaban raid in August. Draco hadn't even seen his father in almost a year, and he was still terrified of him.
And he really didn't want to think about this now. He REALLY didn't want to think about this now.
Which was why he didn't have his usual guard up when Ginny spoke up out of the blue, "Why do you always sneer? Doesn't your face know any other expression, or is it actually frozen like that. You know, like when you're little and your mom tells you if you keep making that face, it's going to freeze like that? Is that what happened?"
With his guard down, he actually couldn't help himself. He couldn't stop it. He burst out laughing. It came out sounding kind of rough, and hoarse, as though it hadn't been used in years. Which it hadn't.
Ginny smiled at the sound, and that smile…well, it was enough to keep him from putting the guard right back up. Which was why he answered truthfully. "No, it didn't get stuck like that. I tried smiling once as a kid, and realized that it was crooked. My mom told me it was always going to be crooked. Since having an imperfect son wasn't an option, she told me that if I sneer instead of smile, no one would ever notice."
Her mouth was gaping open. Maybe he shouldn't have been SO honest. Then she started laughing, and he couldn't help smiling back at her. When she finally stopped laughing, he was still smiling, so he could understand her next words: "It really is crooked."
He kept his crooked smile in place, for the first time in his life unselfconscious about it. "Told you so."
Silence reigned again, but it wasn't the same waiting-for-someone-to-give-in silence as before. This was a whole hell of a lot more comfortable.
Unfortunately, it also let his thoughts wander back to their previous area—his dreaded, damn blasted father. As much as he just might be beginning to actually LIKE the situation they found themselves in…they really did have to get out of their before word got to Lucius. Or to Ron.
"So…" he began, hoping Ginny was psychic. He really didn't want to be the one to admit fear of discovery.
Luckily for him, or maybe unluckily seeing as how he wasn't going to be stuck with her anymore, she did seem to read his mind.
She stood up and he followed suit, resisting the urge to dig into the stone floor with the toe of his shoe in a nervous gesture. "Well, I promise not to tell anyone about your crooked smile, and the fact that you actually CAN laugh, if you promise not to tell anyone that I made the first move…"
Draco was about to ask, "What move?" when Ginny crossed the five feet separating them in a few steps.
**********
A/N: Yes, I know, evil cliffhanger :) Check back soon!
